Hail Crusand!
by Chaotic Blades
Summary: Our choices shape who we are. And not only us, but those around us. Who can say what was really the right choice? Senel... why did you betray me?
1. Chapter 1

I meant to work on Freaky Saturday, I really did, but I can't figure out how to get it going again (and it doesn't help that I forgot what the Senel subplot was about.) So instead I decided to write a plotbunny that's been bothering me for awhile.

Oh yeah, and Vaclav? I remember the game mentioning him being a prince but apparently I'm wrong…? Well, whatever. Even if I am, he's a prince now. Why? Because I say so! (Actually, it's more 'cause I found out after I wrote this chapter and it would make a lot less sense if I were to delete any references to it so if I'm right, yay, if not, screw it.)

I don't own Tales of Legendia or anything in it.

------------------- Chapter 1 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Call in the commander of special operations!" ordered Vaclav from where he lounged on his throne. He frowned, why hadn't the commander appeared yet? His orders had been to report directly to him upon his return to the homeland. And yet, his officer had yet to grace them with his presence. _Still,_ he thought with a chuckle,_ it would have been stranger if he hadn't delayed his report._

"How shameful," remarked Cashel, one of his most trusted soldiers, "To be shown such generosity from the throne and to cast it away… clearly he is less worthy than I have heard."

"Are you doubting my judgment, _Cashel?_"

Quickly realizing his mistake he sputtered, "Oh no, of course not, milord. I only meant-"

"Save it Cashel, your excuses only add to your insubordination," Melanie cut in. The fourth and final person in the room watched as impassively as always, not wanting to get caught up in another one of his colleagues squabbles.

Vaclav watched them all with amusement. Melanie, Cashel, and Stingle, the three Terrors. Once he had had high hopes for them. That was before the commander. Leader of the Pythons, his most elite squad at just nineteen (granted Vaclav had trained him himself, it didn't change all that _natural talent_ of his.) The Pythons were his last resort, striking out so that their Fang could inflict devastation upon particularly tenacious foes. And best of all, he had complete control over his little pet snake. After all, who had raised him as a true Crusandian, a true eren, a true warrior?

"All I'm saying is that this Fang character had better show up soon-"

The prince grinned viciously. _3… 2… 1…._ Sure enough, his poisonous Fang had been waiting at the door the entire time. Just like him to keep them waiting as a game. Vaclav himself didn't mind, it helped remind the others of their place.

"You called?" He could've laughed. Such a gruff, simple reply! The Fang was something else, as always. A glance was cast to see how the Terrors were taking this greeting. Melanie and Cashel predictably bristled. Only Stingle remained calm, though he probably just didn't care.

"How dare you show such disrespect for Lord Vaclav!" Cashel had switched to 'lord'. Clearly he was upset.

"Impudent brat-" Melanie began before Vaclav's booming laugh echoed around the room. "S-sir?"

"You haven't changed at all, have you Senel?"

"And neither have you, unfortunately," the man, Senel, shot back, "What kind of idiot sends men into the Misty Mountains with the Lord of the Legacy just waiting beyond them?"

Vaclav could see that his Terrors were feeling uncomfortable. Commander Senel Coolidge, the Fang, had that effect on people. His open hostility to even his commanding officers had gotten him into trouble when he was younger and that tendency had yet to noticeably diminish. He knew that it took all Melanie and Cashel had just to not 'chastise' him.

"Speaking of which, did you learn anything?" If the way the other's visage got even frostier was any clue, there was indeed news.

"Lady Gadoria is on the move. Her forces seem to have spread along the southernmost shore of the Legacy. In fact, I've heard rumors that she and the Lord of the Legacy have teamed up. I'll have to have further investigation done to confirm or deny these rumors," he reported. Troubling, to be sure, but could that really be it? Of course not, the Fang wasn't spooked by mere bandits, even if they did control the Legacy. No, it had to be….

"And what of the Albatross?" asked Vaclav. Yes, that was it. He caught that look in Senel's eyes. So he _did_ know more about that troublesome vigilante than he let on!

"Getting bolder with each success." _Yes Coolidge, I saw that flicker of doubt. You know who she is, don't you?_

"And that's enough to get the mighty Fang all flustered?" Ah, so Cashel finally spoke up. "It looks like even the Pythons are ultimately just more expendable garbage. We Terrors would never be so weak as to tremble before one pathetic girl." And thus he sealed his fate. The ninja never even saw that fist coming, an event that repeated itself several times before he fell to the ground, defeated. Senel ground his heel into Cashel's back as he snapped, "Watch who you call weak. You just might get beaten by them." He removed first his foot, then himself from the room.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't ask for Vaclav's leave.

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The stars shone so brightly that night. Why, Shirley wondered, did they only do that when something had brought her mind back to _him?_ It's not like he had stayed at their village longer than a month before….

"Hey Stella, what do you think Senel's doing right now?" she asked, turning to her sister. As expected, her sister stiffened angrily.

"Why do you keep bringing that traitor up?!" _It's not as if I don't understand, Stella. You trusted him even though you knew what he was… who he was. And he betrayed that trust._

"Stella, why do you think he did it?'

"I think a better question would be 'why do you care'," the girl in question spat back.

_I know you liked him, Stella. You really thought he would do the right thing. You wanted to believe he cared for you too._

"Do you think he ever regrets what he did?"

"Of course he doesn't! Ugh, just go to sleep, Shirley. You need the rest if you honestly think he might be innocent," Stella said, _trying_ to be nice about it. Trying to be the good older sister looking out for her younger, naïve sibling.

Shirley saw that Stella wouldn't be pushed any further that night. She rolled over and thought once more before going to sleep.

_Is he looking up at these same stars, wherever he is?_

As for Stella, she donned her feathered mask and cloak and went hunting.

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"Moses, are you sure she can be trusted?" Will fretted as he paced restlessly, "I trust your judgment but any dealings with lady Gadoria are chancy. The woman abandoned her own family and country!"

"You don't need to remind me, Will, I'm the one who has to sit through all her rants!" he replied. Will sighed to himself. Moses was an amazing leader and he was loyal to him… but that didn't mean the other wasn't an idiot.

"It's not just that…. You know how she feels about men. Don't you think she just plans to use us?"

"Of course she does."

Will had to admit he was shocked. Usually it was his job to point out these sorts of things and yet…. Well, it wasn't not like the other man was completely stupid, or else he couldn't control as much of the Legacy as he did.

"We're using her too."

There it was. He supposed it made sense. That would explain how Moses planned to drive away Crusand and gain control of the Legacy in one move.

"I guess I have nothing to worry about then," Will joked, "That aside, how's Harriet?"

"Don't worry about her; she'll be safe with Csaba! In fact, from the sound of his reports we've got a future bandit chief on our hands! Maybe I should pass the torch to her when I retire," Moses remarked slyly. Will laughed. It looked like for now, everything was as it should be.

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"'Lord of the Legacy'? Ha! He's just some puffed-up, stupid bandit!" mocked Norma, "I tell ya, give the guy an inch and he'll claim the whole ship!"

"Of course, what'd you expect? He's just another arrogant man. I can't wait till we win this war, then we can finally stamp out those savages once and for all!" sneered Lady Gadoria herself.

"Oh, oh, oh, that reminds me, C! I recently bought some awesome information off Jay. It seems that Teach has a daughter living out on the mainland!"

"Oh?" Chloe mused, "Well that takes care of Will. He would never dream of going against us if we had his daughter. And Sandor is too stupid to realize our plans on his own. He'll have no choice but to surrender his portion of the Legacy to us! Especially after we control the Bridge."

"Yeah, about that… turns out we need the Merines to even unlock the front door," Norma said with a nervous giggle.

"It doesn't matter. You can always gather information or," and here she grimaced in distaste, "even rely on Jay."

"Come on, C, he's not bad for a guy! I mean, he's not always honest but it's thanks to him that we control the south shore of Raging Bay!" Even as she sais it, Norma knew that Chloe wouldn't listen. Seriously, what was the girl's problem with men? Then again, with a neighbor like Moses…. "He's practically a girl anyway."

"I hope for your sake that word of what you just said never gets back to him."

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_I'll have to charge Norma extra for her next request,_ Jay thought as he slunk away from the room. _No matter, I still have a client waiting for me._ For most people, the journey from Chloe's camp on the stern of the ship to Port-on-Rage was impossible to make in less than a week. As for Jay, with his secret routes and pathways, he could get there in hours.

"Took you long enough," his client grumbled.

"Merely tracking the target to assure maximum accuracy in my information," Jay lied smoothly. Like he needed to. Those two girls were so predictable. The chase wasn't even fun with such boring prey as them.

"So, where are they?"

_Aren't we impatient? Still, he knows better than to provoke a fight. Our strength is too closely matched for either of us to gain anything from it._ Out loud he said, "The Merines is getting close to the Alter of the Sea. If all goes well for her, she should reach it in two days."

"What about her sister?"

Jay raised an internal eyebrow. _The sister as well? It is as I suspected. He does have some connection to them beyond his orders._ "She disappears every night and travels with her sister by day. But I'm sure you already knew that, didn't you?"_ No reaction. He must have been hiding it for a long time. But why? The Albatross is his enemy and I've seen nothing to suggest that he's anything but loyal to Vaclav…. I must investigate this._ "Here's a map I made of their location.

Senel left the port with a map and a significantly decreased amount of gald.

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Okay, I'm just gonna clarify a few points down here.

-Everyone is two years older than they were in the game.

-Norma isn't actually on Chloe's side, per se. She's a second-hand information dealer (i.e. she'll buy info from Jay then sell it to someone else for a profit) and she just happens to prefer Chloe over her other customers. They're friends and she'll go out of her way to help Chloe but she's not under Chloe's command.

-Moses and Chloe both control large portions of the Legacy but Moses holds a little bit more than Chloe does. He owns everything north of Raging Bay and the land to the side of it and Chloe owns the rest. And no, Rexalia didn't fall into a plothole.

-Finally, the Albatross gets it's name from a seabird that's considered bad luck.


	2. Between the Phantom and the Fang

I don't own Legendia. You'd know if I did. How? Senel would've had a flashback that actually explains his background instead of giving us bones so bare there was nothing there.

* * *

_Today Shirley will finally become the Merines!_ Stella exulted as she dealt another blow with her swallow. Her teriques was being kept busy destroying the nearby tanks.

"Albatross! Spare me and I'll-" Stella didn't even let the soldier finish. He fell, as all the others had before him.

"As if I'd let you Crusandian scum roam free! Monsters like you who slaughter without cause should disappear from this world!"

"So you'd 'disappear' too?" remarked a familiar voice. She whirled around to see a black and red uniform with a head of white hair. She was barely able to keep herself from attacking aware of how evenly matched they were.

"What are you doing here?!" she snarled, "Are you after Shirley again?!"

"You told her to go on ahead, didn't you? She wasn't at your camp when I checked." The two stared each other down, neither wanting to give the other any information. Finally Senel sighed. "Stella, stop attacking our soldiers."

"Why should I? I won't stop until Shirley is safe!" she argued back. How dare he talk like that, after all that he'd done?

"Even if it means killing an entire nation? All humans… Orerines?" he shot back.

"I'll only kill those who come after Shirley," she ground out, "Speaking of which…." Senel was barely able to dodge a strike from her teriques, now finished with the tanks.

"So that's your answer?" Stella didn't bother replying, instead jumping up with an attack herself. Her swallow whistled through the air, only just missing Senel, who quickly unleashed a counterattack of eres. Back and forth, back and forth, till they felt barely able to stand. They breathed heavily as they gazed at one another.

_Swish!_

The swallow sliced through the dust kicked up by Senel's retreating heels. It was only when she made to follow that she felt the effects of the poison-inducing weapon he had equipped. Stella collapsed to her knees, trying to concentrate on a healing eres.

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Shirley stood in awe before the alter. She, the Merines, was here to finally accept the will of Nerifes! To fulfill her duty to the Ferines people!

_If only Senel were here,_ she caught herself thinking,_ Wait, why would I want him to be? I should want Stella here! I… I forgive Senel? Why? Is it because of how long it's been since I last saw him? Why can't I be strong like Stella and just move on?_

She tried to move forward but found her legs stubborn. _Why won't I move?_ She had no time to wonder further for she heard footsteps. _That doesn't sound like Stella… who else would be here?_

"Shirley."

She couldn't hold back a gasp. There, in front of her, was the very man she had been agonizing about! The irony was lost on her though as she trembled.

_Is Senel… here to capture me? Or even… kill me?_

"Don't become the Merines," he ordered.

"What…?" was her confused reply.

"If you want to save your people, don't become the Merines." The look in his eyes scared her. Nothing in it suggested he would let her live for _her_ sake.

"Stay back!" cried Shirley, taking a step back towards the alter.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm only here to stop you from making this mistake," he persuaded.

"Mistake? I'll become the Merines and save the Ferines from- from people like you!" was her near-hysterical reply.

"Shirley, don't be stubborn like Stella was-"

"Stella?" she gasped, "What did you do to her?!"

"She should be fine-"

"Don't talk to me!" she all but shrieked. Her teriques appeared at the ready.

"I didn't want to resort to this," Senel muttered, "_NOW!"_

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"The commander's given the signal!" yelled a member of the Pythons, "Set off the explosives!"

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At Senel's shout, a series of small explosions shook the alter. To Shirley's horror it began to collapse into the sea with her on it! Senel on the other hand beat a hasty retreat and watched the first friend he ever had fall into the raging, rock-filled water.

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"How dare he make a fool out of me!" fumed Cashel. It had been two days since his humiliation in the throne room and the sting had yet to fade. A mere peasant, beat _him?_ Make it look _easy?_ No, it had to be because that worm had caught him off guard. Not that Melanie acknowledged that fact. It was doubtless that she was the one who had spread the story around so that even the lowest _kitchen slaves_ were hiding sniggers, all the while praising that insufferable Fang!

_Senel Coolidge, _he thought,_ whether you know it or not, you've made a powerful enemy. I'll tolerate your presence for now, but as soon as this war is over…._

"It's a sad snake who loses its Fang. One might even say it should be put down."

Had Cashel been paying more attention, he might have noticed the ever-silent Stingle get up from a nearby table and hurry away.

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"Hey C, what's with that scary look?" inquired Norma with her usual bounce. Chloe was staring at a letter that had been carried in by the swiftest breed of messenger falcon. On it was the Crusandian seal.

"It's a message from Stingle…," she replied with a puzzled frown.

"Stingle? Isn't that the guy who-"

"Yes, yes," she interrupted, "According to his letter, there's been some friction in the higher ranks of Vaclav's army. Between the Phantom and the Fang."

"No way! The Fang revealed himself?! Vaclav's gotta be planning something huge is he's waving around the big guns!" spouted Norma excitedly, nearly falling out of her chair.

"Stingle hasn't heard anything like that. Nothing new, anyway. Or at least on Vaclav's part. Cashel seems to be plotting to obliterate the Python's, starting with the Fang."

"Geez, why don't they just take each other out and save us the trouble?" Norma pouted, "Do I at least get a description of who to look out for? It'd be pretty lame if that was the whole message." Chloe handed over the second part of the letter with only a roll of her eyes accompanying the action. It was made up of a mug shot, some basic facts, and his name. "'Senel Coolidge'? Man, even his name makes him sound like he's a total stick in the mud! I don't think I could take snooping about this guy myself. I'll just get Jay to do it."

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The girl- the Merines?- stirred with a moan. Will could sympathize. It had been a long fall into rocky waters. When he had fished her out, bruises were already beginning to form and she was covered in cuts of varying degrees of severity. He couldn't believe she'd even survived… then again, Merines or not, she was obviously a Radiant.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, so as not to scare her. She started anyway and looked up with wide eyes.

"F-fine, I guess… who are you?" She sounded so fragile. Will was suddenly struck with the image of Harriet lying in her place.

"My name is Will Raynard. That was quite the tumble you took there," he said casually.

"Tumble…? Oh!" the girl exclaimed in fear.

_She looks so sad. Maybe I should comfort her?_

"Miss…."

"Oh, sorry, my name's Shirley. I- where am I?" she asked in confusion.

"You're in the Lord of the Legacy's own private tent. Don't worry, you'll be safe here!" he exclaimed in response to her look of terror, "Moses is a good man, he won't do anything to harm you. He might even be able to help you."

"Help… me?"

"Yes. That _was_ a Crusandian soldier who was with you on the cliff? If that's so, then we have a common enemy." The girl still looked hesitant to Will. He opened his mouth to say more but paused when her face hardened decisively.

"That man… he wasn't my enemy. Not exactly anyway," she explained.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" _If he's not your enemy, then why did he try to kill you?_

"He… he's my brother," Shirley murmured. He stared incredulously at her. "You- you see, we had an argument over- well, personal stuff, and he ran off to join Crusand."

"…." Will couldn't find a way to answer that. Family turning on one another over a small disagreement? It didn't sound very family-like, especially for what he'd heard about the Radiant. And weren't they supposed to be peaceful to begin with?

"He's part Crusandian, he thought he might fit in more with his father's people," she offered.

_That makes a little more sense,_ Will thought grudgingly, _I should trust her, even if her story does seem a bit suspicious. After all, she _is_ the Merines. If I expect her to trust me, I should start by trusting her. Besides, what reason would she have to lie in order to protect an enemy?_ He got up from the nearby chair he was sitting in. "Let's continue this later. You've had a long day; you should get some rest."

"Ah, o-okay," she stuttered. He couldn't help but smile and walked away with a wam, fond feeling in his chest.

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True to the promise he made to himself, Jay had milked Norma for all she was worth for this next piece of information (Norma, guessing what had gotten him so annoyed, paid with relatively little complaint. She was just glad she was getting off easy.) He was surprised; he hadn't expected anyway to find out the Fang's identity so soon. _A leak?_ He wondered. No matter, business was business after all.

"Senel Coolidge, also known as Senel the Fang. The commander of special operations and Vaclav's favorite," he began, pausing for the inevitable interruption.

"His favorite?" she blanched, "I knew the guy was good, but I didn't think he was _that_ good."

"Vaclav himself trained Senel from age eight, when he was first introduced to the army. Of course he's good."

"Yeah, whatever. Can we get onto the good stuff now? Like his weaknesses or dirt that you've dug up?" Norma interjected again, somewhat grumpily.

"He's a weak swimmer, he's reckless, and his defense is rudimentary at best. As for 'dirt' you could always bring up his village roots or the Merines and her sister."

"The Merines?! Don't tell me _that's_ what he's been doing all this time?!" Without even waiting for a reply she continued, "But why would he come out of hiding now? Vaclav really _is _planning something big, isn't he?!"

"If I may continue?" he snarked tartly, "Vaclav hasn't made his plans public yet. In fact, even the Terrors and the Fang have yet to receive orders beyond 'drop everything and return to the capital'. Senel is currently the only one of them who has been sent out on a mission and it's the same one he's been on. He's onboard the Legacy in the area around the Alter of the Sea on a mission to capture the Merines."

"Oh, is that all you know? You're losing your touch Mr. Information Dealer. I thought everyone knew about _that,"_ she crowed.

_She knows something I don't? What? And how could that second-rate dealer find out before me? I must ask- no, that's what she wants. She's baiting me but I won't be fooled. Her heavy-handed attempt at stringing me along was her undoing. She doesn't have any exclusive information at all! So then why did she say that? Was it to make me squirm? What if she's not lying? Then what does she know?! I have to know…! I need to know…! I-_

"Uh, Jay? You still in there?"

He snapped back to focus. Norma had caught him spacing out, how embarrassing. "Yes, I-"

"Want to know all about it? Of course you would! And let me tell ya, this is really juicy," she giggled wickedly.

_Is she planning on telling me or not?_ His disgust was only increased but the exaggerated wink sent in his direction.

This disgust must have shown for she hastily spat out what she'd been teasing him with. "See, the fang did something to make our old friend Cashel so mad he's plotting to take down the Pythons!"

His surprise lasted an instant before turning into satisfaction. Now there was some interesting information.

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Thanks to everyone who read!


	3. Web of Deceit

I have no excuse for this late update. At first I had a zillion projects due for Biology, then I figured I could wait a week to recover from that craziness, and finally I just got lazy. This chapter's actually been ready for a few months now –sweatdrop- So sorry to anyone who might've been kept waiting.

I don't own Legendia. Trust me, I don't.

* * *

Stella opened her eyes blearily. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to see. Shirley? Home? Woods? A cell? Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't this. She lay in a clean bed, in a strange, spartan room. It was obviously of Orerines design but when aboard the Legacy, that didn't mean much. Where could she be? And who could've taken her in? Before she could muse further, her thoughts were interrupted by the door slamming open.

"I told you she'd be awake!" chirped a brunette Orerines who bounced- bounced? seriously?- into the room. "Hey, are you the Merines?" Stella could only stare, shell-shocked, as the blunt girl all but threw herself to the bed.

"Norma, she just woke up! Give her some space!" shouted the next person to enter, a black-haired girl, "I apologize for my companion's rudeness." She started to drag 'Norma' from the room.

"Wait! She said Merines…," Stella trailed off. _They think I'm the Merines… that must mean Shirley is someplace else. Should I lie and say that I'm the Merines or use that title to get help to find Shirley?_

"Oh, yes, you see, we received information that the Merines was near the Alter of the Sea and when we went to investigate…."

"You found me," finished Stella.

"That's right," the dark-haired girl confirmed.

"I gotta say, it's a good thing you weren't at the Alter itself. That thing was totally trashed!" Norma fussed.

"Trashed?!" Now she was completely awake. She bolted upright and would've left the bed if not for the intervention of Dark Hair. _The Alter was destroyed?! Shirley was there! Does that mean Senel attacked her?!_

"We don't know the details, but it appears to have been riddled with explosives. It fell into the sea," Dark Hair explained, "Please, just get some rest. You haven't completely healed yet."

"My sister was on the Alter," she stated as calmly as she could. She had the Orerines' full attention.

* * *

_Why did I lie?_ thought Shirley miserably,_ Why am I protecting Senel? I should be thinking about Stella! If I can't get out of here to find her soon, I may need to rely on the Lord of the Legacy! But… if I tell these bandits about her, won't they try to use her as leverage against me?_ She bit her lip.

"Somethin' bothering you, hun?" called out Moses. Sure, his voice sounded gentle enough, but to control so much of the Legacy….

"I'm fine. Just thinking about… my brother," she lied.

"Hm? Well, don't fret yourself too much. He'll come around eventually. What you need to do is rest. Leave all the brother-hunting to us!" he announced, thumping his chest for emphasis.

"R-right. Thank you." _He doesn't seem all that bad. But… he's a bandit. Couldn't he just be trying to trick me?_ "Um, sir?"

"Aw, you don't got to be so formal! You're Shirley and I'm Moses! I'm not all hung up over titles so you don't have to be either," declared Moses. He patted her shoulder with enough force to send her rocking in her chair. Seeming not to notice, he continued, "Whatever you've got to say, just say it. Long as you're in my tent, you're my equal."

"W-well you see, I'm a Ferines and-" she bit back the rest. If she hadn't, she might have explained everything.

"Don't worry. Human, Radiant, what does it matter? You'd still be the same lovely little lady if your hair didn't light up," he assured her, "Race don't matter here. Hell, I think a few of my men are Radiant!"

"I-I see," she stuttered. _Can this man be trusted? I want to believe it. I think I should tell him that I'm the Merines. They all suspect it anyway. Besides, Moses is nothing like what I've heard of Orerines. Will too. They're nothing like the stories Stella tells of our heritage. They're nothing like… Senel. Yes, he's the one I shouldn't trust! _Despite this assertion, a dull ache made itself felt in her heart.

* * *

Jay would never admit it if asked, but he preferred to arrive fashionably late. How else was he supposed to keep his clients in their place? Still, it wasn't as if it was Norma who was waiting for him. It was fine to make his appearance now. He walked into the bar and scanned the crowd. Ah, there he was!

"I see you're not wearing a disguise," he remarked, "Don't you think you're a little too confident?"

"It's not like anyone will recognize me, on the Legacy _or_ the mainland. What about you? You seem pretty confident yourself," Senel shot back. Ah, Senel, always the fighter.

"It's not a matter of confidence, but rather _competence,_" he said smoothly. The other sighed, knowing that he'd lost this one, as always.

"I'll need you to put that competence to work then. The Merines-"

"Is with the Lord of the Legacy, her sister with Lady Gadoria. As you can clearly see, both are rather far out of your reach." A hint of mocking was present in his tone.

"So in other words, I'm stuck for now," Senel grumbled.

"Maybe not. Those two bandits will be meeting soon to discuss their plans here in Werites Beacon. Naturally there will be high security but there's one variable that wasn't considered: Lady Gadoria's feminism. Her whole army is made up of women who would refuse to let you into the city simply for being a man. The Lord of the Legacy on the other hand has both men and women who would be sympathetic to your plight. Simply sneak in as a civilian and let them handle her people," schemed Jay.

"Understood. Here, your pay." Gald changed hands and Senel stalked off in his usual. He may be unrecognizable to the civilians but his attitude still drew stares. It was a wonder no one had ever been the least bit suspicious of him. Or perhaps they had and had simply met with an untimely fate to reward their perceptiveness.

Once Senel had left, he waited a few minutes more before moving through the crowd to the opposite side of the room. There he met his next client, drumming his fingers impatiently as he was prone to do. Senel was tolerable in comparison to him!

"Took you long enough," Cashel complained, "Now tell me, where can I find the Merines?"

* * *

Vaclav drummed his fingers wearily against the armrest. As amusing as power struggles between his subordinates were for him, there were times, like these, he wished they would all realize that puppets like them had no business pursuing their own interests. Lately he had no patience for their antics. Melanie sought to discredit Cashel, Cashel wanted to get even with Senel (oh sure, he had no evidence but he _knew_ his subordinates.) Not to mention how Senel was withholding information. _The Albatross is a female vigilante who hates Crusand. Senel knows her, apparently well. It could be nearly anyone! After all, he's been all over the world these past few years in his search for the Merines. But for whom could he form such attachment that he would defy me? I _own_ him. Whoever this girl is, she has no claim to him!_

"Commander Vaclav!" called Melanie with a salute.

"Yes, what is it?" he responded irritably.

"It's Cashel, sir, he's not in the capital and there are no records of him leaving!" she announced. He could all but see her smirk of triumph at finally catching him in the act.

"What are you suggesting?" _As if I need to ask. You're as clumsy as ever, Melanie._

"Sir, I believe he may be planning something that he knows you would not approve of. Why else would he go behind your back like this?" she suggested.

"Your concerns have been acknowledged. You're dismissed, Melanie," said Vaclav. He sighed when she sulkily left. Were these people really his best soldiers? No wonder taking the Legacy had never been possible.

* * *

Will knocked on the door in front of him. Even if he didn't have to, her being a prisoner, it was always best to be polite. Besides, while she was originally supposed to be a hostage, it wasn't long before she was considered a valuable advisor to Moses. She had far more experience ruling than the bandit and thus was able to dissuade him from most decisions that would have harmful consequences.

"Come in, Will!" the voice inside beckoned.

"Good evening, Lady Musette," he greeted as he stepped into the room.

"Always so polite," she laughed, "So, what's troubling you?"

"We can never hide anything from you." He had a quick mental debate with himself on whether or not he should say anything. He trusted Moses, he really did. But…. "It's the alliance. I think Moses is putting too much trust in Lady Gadoria. I already talked to him about it but he's confident that he has control over the situation. He thinks he can use her and cast her aside before she can do the same."

She frowned thoughtfully. "Such a spirited girl. It really is a shame she didn't turn out better. She would have made a fine knight, I'm sure."

"Knight? Oh, that's right, she's from the House of Valens," he mused. How does one go from being the heiress of a family of noble knights to controlling half the Legacy as a bandit? Just further proof she couldn't be trusted.

"For now we'll just have to wait, sighed Lady Musette, "We need her cooperation if we're to keep the Legacy. The most you can do now is keep tabs on her. What was the name of your informant? Jay?"

"That's right. Jay the Unseen, a ninja from the mainland," Will confirmed. He wished he knew more about the boy. He couldn't help but get the feeling he was being played when he walked away from their meetings. Still, Jay had yet to let him down.

"A ninja? Well, then you certainly have capable hands working for you. Lady Gadoria should be no problem with someone like that on our side," she laughed.

"_If_ he's on our side," he corrected. She sent him a sharp look. "Jay is… a complicated individual. He could easily just stop providing me with information on a whim or withhold vital information that could be the difference between life and death. Everything's a game to him. I'd rather not rely on someone like that," he clarified.

"So then he can't be bought with money?" Lady Musette tapped her fingers against the arm of her chair pensively. "Then what could his motivation be?"

"Apparently he's willing to work for anyone as long as they can pay and keep his interest." _Because of what's going on right now on the Legacy, we should be safe for the time being. But I wouldn't put it past him to lose interest after Vaclav's been stopped._

"In other words, there's nothing we can do," she stated, "We'll just have to do our best then, and not worry. It's out of our hands. Best to keep a cheerful face and not stress yourself, Will."

"Right…. Thank you for your time, Lady Musette."


	4. Grasp

Okay, I seem to be back in the swing of things! Also, I've (more or less) decided what all the pairings will be. Hopefully I'll be able to get them all in, since I'm trying to make this plot-oriented rather than romance-oriented. Oh yeah, and this is the chapter where what I'm sure anyone reading this was expecting to happen right away happens.

Don't own at all.

---

Shirley bit her lip in worry, her foot restlessly tapping in time to the rumbling of the coach wheels. Here was definite proof that Moses was at least considerate, even if she couldn't go as far as to call him kind. Bandits usually walked or rode animals to get where they were going. Moses had hired a coach especially for her, since he knew she was delicate. It was that delicacy that had held her and Stella back and prevented them from reaching the Alter of the Sea earlier.

But mode of travel was the least of her problems. Two weeks after Will rescued her it was finally time for the meeting with Lady Gadoria. If the rumors were true, it was the weak she despised and not men. How would she view her? Not to mention Lady Gadoria had a reputation for being very radical and violent. In all her time on the Legacy she had heard the Lord of the Legacy freely discussed, though usually in awed whispers over a drink. Lady Gadoria was on the opposite end of the spectrum. No one talked about her in the open, and even in private their voices would shake in fear. Moses had more followers, having more land and being less picky about gender. Lady Gadoria was ruthless and militaristic, more emphasis put on improving one's skills than acceptance. In fact, it was more than an army than a force of bandits. Moses may control more land now but when Crusand was kicked out for good….

_I-I don't think I can do this. What if she tries to force me to into joining her side? What if she figures out that I'm the Merines? Maybe I should tell Moses after all. At least he seems trustworthy!_ Her lip started to bleed, something she took no notice of. _Maybe that's why I miss Senel. I don't have to pretend in front of him. I can be… me. Whether it's the Merines or Shirley he understands me, even now that we're on opposite sides. I don't have that even with Stella! Senel, why did you have to betray me like that?_

A sudden smack on her shoulder jolted her out of her reverie.

"Sorry Shirley, but you were worrying too hard," said Moses, wiping up the blood with a handkerchief.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered in apology, "It's just… Lady Gadoria… I've heard so much about her and- I'm sorry, I shouldn't trouble you." To her surprise he laughed.

"Oh, is that all? Don't you worry your head 'bout _her_. We may not like each other much but we do respect each other. She won't hurt a hair on your head if you're with me. Probably wouldn't anyway, since you're a girl."

"But… the people of Werites Beacon… they always sound so scared of her!" she protested.

"Well, they are in my area of influence," he reminded her, "You hear the same sorta thing about me if you travel south enough."

"Anyways, we're currently allies. She won't attack us until Vaclav is defeated," stated Will, entering the conversation.

"But she's a bandit and-" There she broke off, remembering what her companions were in spite of their good manners towards her. Once again her worry was for nothing. Moses let out a booming laugh and even Will chuckled.

"Do you know why she's called 'Lady Gadoria'?" asked Will.

"Um, w-well, no," she confessed, "I guess I always assumed it was because she was from Gadoria.

"That's true, but that's not all. It's because she was originally from an old family of knights, the House of Valens. Even if she's given up her title, she still follows a few of her old principles. She won't be stabbing us in the back anytime soon," he explained.

"Neither of us have acted like proper bandits in awhile anyway," Moses added in.

"After the influence of other countries was nullified, we turned more towards gaining territory than banditry. These days we limit that sort of thing to ambushing each other's supply trains. Sometimes we even work together, like we're doing now," he continued.

"I see… so I can trust her, at least a little?" she asked. She felt a little calmer but all the stories couldn't have come out of nowhere.

"A little," they agreed in unison. Not being able to think of anything to say to that, the conversation ended. The two men seemed more tense after the mention of Lady Gadoria (Will more so than Moses) and the silence grew steadily more awkward. The only noise was the _kathump! kathump!_ of the wheels rolling over rocks.

_Kathump._

_Kathump._

_Crack!_

All three jumped at the sudden noise- and promptly feel into a heap from the carriage's jolting stop. As they tried to right themselves they fell again, with the whole front of the carriage.

"Harold, what's going on?" Will called in alarm to the driver. They finally managed to untangle themselves and sit up.

"I don't know!" the driver responded, "Something must've put strain on the wheels, they've broken completely! I'll go check it out. You all wait inside; I'll have us moving again in no ti- ahh!"

"Harold! Are you there?!" asked Will, moving towards the door. Moses beat him to it.

"What's going on out here?" he demanded. He had just started opening it when it was jerked open and he was swarmed by red-clad bodies.

"Moses!" cried Will, rushing in to help the other. Shirley panicked for a moment, then moved to help.

_I'm not strong physically, but if I can use my crystal eres, then maybe I can do something! I'll have to get outside though. This place is too cramped!_ She quietly opened the other door and slipped out backwards- right into the grasp of another soldier. A hand quickly blocked a scream before it could escape her mouth.

"Good afternoon, Merines. We've been looking all over for you." The words slid out of the soldier's throat in a slimy manner. "Kill the filth inside," he ordered his men. Shirley as carried helplessly away, hearing only the dying screams from the coach. She felt horrified at losing people she had just started to consider her friends but….

_Who is this that's captured me? I thought Senel was the only one searching!_

--

"Will, you alright?" panted Moses. The bodies of the small force that had attacked them littered the floor.

"Yes, I'm fine. They appear to have underestimated us," he replied, breathing heavily, "It looks like Vaclav's on the move. We'll have to get to Werites Beacon quickly to spread the news."

"Yeah. By the way Shirley, you're being real quiet right now. Did'ja get hurt?" Moses glanced worriedly towards her seat. Her empty seat. Both men saw the open door and footprints outside, shallow ruts in the dirt like someone had tried to dig in their heels. It was obvious what had happened.

"Will… you don't think we were right, do you? Was she really the Merines?" he asked in what for once was a hushed tone.

"Either she is, or we're not alone in our guess," murmured Will. They exchanged a look. The Merines in Vaclav's hands? Themselves ambushed and nearly killed, now without transport? The situation just got a whole lot worse.

--

_My 'concerns have been acknowledged'? I'm not so foolish as to believe that, my lord. You put too much faith in Cashel,_ Melanie thought to herself as she swept down the halls,_ If I expect Cashel to get what's coming to him, I'll have to do it myself. He became a threat to our cause the instant he started acting alone. His little tricks are no match for a widespread scourge of fire!_

She stopped just short of her destination to don her disguise. From now until she took care of Cashel, she would be Scarlet, an arena fighter training onboard the Legacy. It was something that most of the best tried to do, since the Legacy had many species not found on the mainland. Species that were more dangerous than their mainland counterparts. Species that would make the strongest opponent look like a pushover. This role would explain her reason for being there, her fighting skills, and her travelling around the Legacy in search of Cashel in one fell swoop.

"The ship will be leaving in five minutes! Last call for passengers!" called the captain. She hurried in and presented her ticket.

_Soon I'll be on the Legacy and I'll stop whatever plan you've cooked up in these past weeks, Cashel!_ She laughed at the thought.

The rest of the passengers looked away from the cackling madwoman. Wasn't she one of those war-mongering arena fighters? As one they all decided to avoid her for the rest of the voyage, in case she decided to pick a fight with one of them (as those violent arenamen were wont to do when cooped up.) How long was this journey again?

--

Chloe fingered the letter she had received from Stingle a few days earlier. At least one Terror was on the Legacy right now and Moses was late fore their meeting by several hours. Usually, thanks to Will's influence, he was at least on time, if not early. Perhaps an ambush? But how would that be pulled off? She had the exact number of troops Cashel brought with him; there was no way that hulking mound of muscle (_and not much else,_ she thought with a snort) could be taken down so easily! She hated to admit it, but that man _was_ strong. Not to mention that grand galf that always accompanied him and the men he had to have taken along. Even if he was alone Giet would certainly be able to outrun a few heavily armored Crusandian soldiers.

"It just doesn't add up…," she unconsciously mumbled.

"What doesn't add up?" prodded Norma, "Oh, the letter?"

"One Terror here, another on the way…," Chloe mused, "And since he arrived we've been short one idiot bandit."

"So you're saying Red was attacked and he kicked the can? Well there goes our only ally… and competition," Norma added.

"No, we still have Vaclav to worry about. As much as I hate to admit it, we need Moses for now." Chloe sighed in defeat. "I'll have to send out a search party. This alliance is almost more trouble than it's worth."

"Hey, do you think this has anything to do with the Phantom-Fang issue? You know, this Cashel guy wants to discredit the Fang and is attacking one of the bandit chiefs that have been causing them so many problems?"

"But that still doesn't make sense. The Fang is searching for the Merines. If he's trying to outdo him he would be better off beating him to his own goal. Unless…," she trailed off in realization.

"-the Merines was with Moses the entire time. That would mean the Radiant girl we rescued isn't the Merines. In fact, if you think about how she mentioned her sister was at the Alter of the Sea-"

"-it could be that we have the Merines' sister," she finished in awe.

"So Moses takes her along to rub it in our faces that he found the Merines, ditches most of his followers so she won't get suspicious, and gets attacked by Cashel. He must've lost or we would've seen him by now so Cashel has the Merines and Moses is nowhere to be seen," Norma summarized.

"This is serious. If Vaclav has the Merines then he could use her power to become unstoppable! We've got no choice, we have to find Moses and get the whole story!" exclaimed Chloe. The two women hurried off to organize search parties.

As soon as they left, Stella eased out of the closet she had been listening from. She knew what she had to do. After opening a window she summoned her teriques, flying away with it. If she hurried she could reach her sister before she got too far.

--

A sudden commotion got Senel's attention from the corner of the bar he was waiting in. Some of the bandits ran in and began conversing in hushed tones with the bandits in the bar. After some back-and-forth they left together in what was close to a panic. The bar buzzed as everyone combined the snippets of conversation they'd heard.

"The Lord of the Legacy was-"

"-that means Will would've been-"

"I heard the Merines was involved!"

"-thanks to the Phantom-"

That got Senel interest. Cashel? On the legacy? And what was that about the Merines?

"I bet the Fang is behind this!" yelled an angry man with a large number of empty glasses by him. Senel started at the mention of him and quickly looked to see if anyone had noticed his reaction. Luckily, no one had.

"Yeah!" chorused a few others from across the room, "I've heard the little rat is scampering around the Legacy right this very minute!"

"It must've been him who started that fire in Dominopolis!"

"Who cares? That's in the 'no man's land', remember? Those bitches deserve any disasters they get!"

"Are you calling my daughter a bitch?!" A scuffle broke out that soon escalated into a fight, as everyone was eager to relieve the tension with their fists. Senel had begun to sneak his way out of the pit of insanity the room had become when an arm reached out and grabbed him. Before he could react he was jerked back and thrown to the floor. The man who had done it then loudly declared:

"I haven't seen _you_ around before. What's a Crusandian like you doing here?" This caught the attention of the hotheads.

"Now that you mention it, he does look Crusandian," commented the man with the bandit daughter.

"Yeah, he's got the hair!" agreed another.

"Maybe _he's_ the Fang!" cried the one that had started the fight. He sent a fist flying at Senel- and promptly found his back on the floor. Senel kept his eres out in case others decided to attack him.

"I'm not the Fang, so get out of my way!" he snapped in his usual convincing way. His usual way that as always only added fuel to the fire.

"W-well you're still a Crusandian!" the man pointed out with a shaking voice.

"I'm… an ex-Crusandian. I deserted when I fount out the kind of things my country does," he lied.

"Wait, really?" Everyone began muttering to each other in suspicion.

"How about this: I'll pay for all your drinks to show my goodwill. Will that convince you?" He would rather fight his way through the mess (especially with the enormous drain this would put on his wallet) but he needed to keep his cover for as long as possible.

At first no one seemed like they would accept. Then someone called, "Sounds like a good time to me!" and everyone else clamored for the free drinks.

"Heeey, y're n's'bad, kid," slurred a man so drunk it was hard to believe he was even conscious, throwing an arm over Senel's shoulder, "Wh's y'n'm?"

"Senel Coolidge," he muttered, trying to dislodge the other.

"S'n'l Coolge, eh?" the man all but roared. He swung him around to face the body of the crowd. "Ev'r'ne, th's's S'n'l Coolige! Puhsh ov'r'n let'm h've a drink!" Helpless to resist all the suddenly eager men in the bar, Senel was forced to sit down and sip a drink as slowly as possible.

--

_Cashel has the Merines. That means I can expect to hear from Senel, Norma, and Will soon. And the information that Chloe, Lady Gadoria received about Melanie the crimson…! This is certainly getting interesting. And now I know how they've been getting information ahead of me._ Jay let out a smirk at the letter Chloe had left on top of the table._ Cashel, Senel, Norma, Will, Chloe, Moses, Melanie, the Merines and her sister… this is getting to be too much, even for me!_

He turned to the others he had brought with him on this trip. The ninjas waited patiently for their orders. Well, he wasn't one to disappoint.

"I'd like each of you to follow one specific person from this list. One person, Melanie the Crimson, has yet to arrive on the Legacy; whoever chooses her will wait at Port-on-Rage. If she doesn't arrive within three days, assume she boarded in the south at Fortisport. The rest of you are to follow Senel Coolidge, Cashel the Phantom, Will Raynard, Moses Sandor, Chloe Valens, Norma Beatty, and the Albatross. Send all information to our nearest post to your position." The ninjas nodded their understanding and disappeared. Jay moved along his way as well.

_I'll track the Merines myself. Everything in this is revolving around her. Good thing she arrived, I was starting to get tired of the squabbles of these stupid bandits. Yes, this should be very entertaining._

--

To explain the comment about Senel looking like a Crusandian because of his hair, I've noticed a trend in the hair colors of people from certain countries. Gadorians have black hair, Rexalians brown, the Ferines blond, bandits every color of the rainbow (seriously, they do!), and Crusandians all seem to have various cool tones. (Senel: White/Grey, Melanie: Grey/Blue/Periwinkle/WTF?, Cashel: Teal, Vaclav is the exception with that maroon-y thing, and I'm pretty sure Stingle was never actually from Crusand. ) I don't know if it's necessarily true but it's my own little head-canon anyway.

And random city names are random. I just figured if loads of people are living down there, cities probably popped up. In fact, there are a few new cities in both the north and the south that will probably never come up, but still exist.


	5. Merines' Sister

Well, in the last chapter I mentioned a few places that didn't exist in the game (since this happens two years later I figured there might be a few more places on the map) and that made me realize I should probably create a map. Well, here it is!

http://chaoticblades (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/Hail-Crusand-Map-158103720

Other than that, the next update might be quick, since I have MCAS all this week and that usually free up a lot of time during school. (For those who don't know, MCAS is the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System- basically a standardized test MA students have to take until a certain point in their school career when it's actually counted as a grade and possible scholarship. Last year I ever have to take it!)

I don't own Tales of Legendia.

* * *

Night had fallen since Shirley had disappeared, but Stella didn't mind. Her sister's kidnappers would be settling down for the night which would leave their camp open to the Albatross. She'd swoop in and save her sister before anyone noticed her there! Maybe she's even stick around to teach them a lesson or two. Those Crusandians would suffer for whatever they did to Shirley!

_Senel, even for you this is low! I know this was your doing no matter what those bandits say! You're the one who chases Shirley! It's been that way for the past five years. Why would it change now?_

She spotted lights peeking out through the trees. The camp! It was small too; there couldn't be more than twenty people there. Stella crept closer to get a better look. There were five tents in a clearing, four of which surrounded the fifth. That had to be where Shirley was… and Senel. In the gap between each tent stood a guard, all four of whom didn't seem to be paying much attention to their jobs.

_It's strange though, they don't look like the Pythons. More like… average infantrymen. It has to be a trick, I know Senel's behind this! He always is! Right from the start he played me for a fool. This time I won't be deceived!_

Since there was nothing to prop them up against and it would give her away if someone glanced out of a tent and saw them lying on the ground, Stella let the guards live. It was easy enough to get into the camp anyways. She climbed a tree with a sturdy branch hanging over the camp and dropped herself down. With the aid of her teriques she landed softly and silently next to her target: the center tent. Knowing she had to act quickly in case someone happened to come by for whatever reason she peeked through the partially open tent flap. Good, there was only Shirley and one other. He was a teal-haired man clad in dark clothing with a cloth covering half of his face.

_No Senel? Maybe he left this man here to guard Shirley. But why? Senel always went after her personally. Besides, this man doesn't look like a Python either…. What am I doing, just standing around thinking? If I waste anymore time Shirley could be in even more danger!_

Shrugging off her observations she decided that since she couldn't avoid a confrontation she might as well get the jump on the guard. Her teriques was sent crashing into the tent to get the flap out of her way, her swallow following not far behind. It swung down on the man's head-

-which disappeared before it could make contact.

"Stella, get out of here!" her sister shrieked as she herself drew back in alarm. Where had he gone? Suddenly he reappeared- along with several others of him. She hacked away at all of them, trying to find the real one. Two guards whom she hadn't noticed in the room made to grab her but they never stood a chance. They did, however, cause enough of a delay for the rest of the soldiers, who had been waiting for this in the other tents, to burst in. Thanks to their advantage in numbers and the nonexistent space in which to fight she was quickly overwhelmed.

"So this is the troublesome little bird that has the Fang scared of his own shadow?" purred the man.

_Still a trick? No, I don't think Senel would go this far. Does that mean the bandits were right? This man would be Cashel the Phantom? After fighting him I can certainly see how he got that name._

"Nothing to say, hmm? I can't believe he's actually afraid of you," the man, now identified as Cashel, continued, "To think after all the trouble you've caused him _I'll_ be the one to unmask you. There could be nothing more shameful for him now could there?" He ripped her mask off and ordered one of his soldiers to burn it. "Stella, was it? It looks like the rumors were true. You really are a Radiant. The first time a Radiant has made contact with a civilized human in five years and I have two of them!" He chuckled smugly and continued gloating.

_The Phantom and the Fang are on the same side yet they really do hate each other, don't they? I guess if I had to choose one it would be Senel… but only because he's the evil I know! I can't forgive him for what he did, ever! That's why I need to protect Shirley now, because I failed her before! Hang on, Shirley, your older sister will rescue you soon!_

"-filthy pigs that pollute our waters with their refuse-"Cashel was cut off by a kick to the groin. Stella used the distraction to jerk free of her captors and dash out of the tent. A poorly organized pursuit was only able to follow her for a short while before she was gone.

_I don't like it, but I'll have to get help from those bandits._ Towards Werites Beacon it was.

* * *

Will wasn't sure if he should be relieved or anxious. On one hand, he and Moses were safe in Werites Beacon among Lady Gadoria's troops. On the other… they were among Lady Gadoria's troops. He glanced at Moses out of the corner of his eye. If the man felt his doubts he didn't show it. Moses was grinning his usual idiot grin and even flirting with their escorts. He winced internally as he imagined how _that_ would play out. Hopefully Moses wouldn't try that with Lady Gadoria. He could already see him being dumped head-first into the nearby fountain.

Speaking of her, here came the woman herself with her right-hand (wo)man, Norma. Norma was a mystery rivaling that of Lady Gadoria's motives. No one knew her reasons for coming to the Legacy or even how she met Lady Gadoria. According to rumor she arrived during the craze over the Everlight. Five years ago some professor- Sven, was it?- had shocked scholars worldwide by proving the Everlight's existence. Shortly after there was an influx of people coming to the Legacy and the professor was never seen again. It was presumed that he died and the whole matter dropped.

"And here I thought you didn't like me, Chloe," teased Moses as she reached them. The wild look in her eyes shifted to disgusted annoyance and a grudging respect. "You missed me so much you sent these lovely ladies out to look for me!"

"Like I would. I only did it so I could kill you myself for keeping the Merines a secret," she huffed. Will managed to keep his face mostly neutral but Moses, with his typical acting skills, reacted so comically it was almost as though that was the act.

"W-what are you talkin' 'bout, suga'? You know I'd never hide anything from my wild woman!" he exclaimed with a nervous life. With that one statement the matter at hand completely vanished from her mind.

"I told you not to call me that! Despicable! Worthless! Coward!"

"Who are you callin' a coward?! And I am _not_ worthless!" he yelled.

"So says the man who waltzes in here late with nothing to show but a few bruises!" she taunted.

"Lady Gadoria, about that-" Will began.

"So now you're making excuses?" she snapped.

"We won that battle!" Moses fumed, completely ignoring the steadily rising temper of Will.

"And lost the Merines!" she pointed out.

"Be quiet, both of you!" Will interjected when it appeared they weren't about to stop. He bonked them both on the head.

"Will/Raynard!" they protested.

"Settle down," he scolded, "You're both getting distracted from the issue here! The Merines is in danger and all you two are doing is squabbling pointlessly! We need to get her back before she ends up in Vaclav's clutches!"

"You tell 'em, Teach!" giggled Norma with an arm pump.

"Norma," he said to both acknowledge her presence and warn her that he wouldn't tolerate any of her foolishness.

"Hey, Bubbles! Still hanging with Chloe? Why don't you join the winning side?" Moses said as his usual greeting.

"Hah, I already did! Besides, if I join you I'll start smelling like you," she laughed.

"I don't smell!" he cried, flailing his arms in a way that sent waves of stench in her direction. (_To be fair,_ Will noted, _it wasn't very strong for a man that spent more time with animals than his own kind._)

"That's enough!" Will interrupted yet again. _No wonder nothing ever comes out of these meetings. Though at least Lady Gadoria tends to look at us as more than just men during them._

"Raynard's right, we're all acting like children!" agreed Lady Gadoria, "We need to concentrate on getting the Merines back. Who's seen her last?"

"I have," said a new voice. He turned and saw blonde hair, blue eyes, and a striking resemblance to Shirley. After a moment he also noticed the disarrayed hair, bruises, and most importantly, blood.

"Hey, you're that girl we found! What happened to you?" asked Norma.

"I tried to save my sister… and failed. I barely managed to get myself free to come back here," the young woman explained.

"Wait, so you really are the Merines' sister? But how did you-" Lady Gadoria broke off in realization, "You were listening to us…."

"You were right in all your guesses," the woman sighed, "My sister is the Merines and she was captured by Cashel the Phantom in order to get revenge on S- the Fang."

"So that means-"she was cut off by Moses.

"Hold up now, y'all. What's going on here? Shirley never said nothing about having a sister! And what's this about revenge? And the Fang?"

"Y'see, the Fang insulted Cashel so bad that he's decided to take down the Pythons! So since the Fang's been after the Merines, he goes in after her in order to discredit him," clarified Norma.

"How do _you_ know all this?" Moses all but yowled at her.

"What do you mean? It's common knowledge! You can ask anyone and they'd tell you the same thing," she bragged. Will knew her well enough to see that she was bluffing. Moses would too, if he wasn't so busy being angry. He decided to intervene with his own comment before they all got off-track again.

"Even if we assume that information is correct, Shirley herself never mentioned a sister. In fact, she told us she had a brother," he stated, staring at the so-called sister in suspicion.

"Brother?" she gasped, "She must've made him up to make you less suspicious about a lone girl travelling to a known Ferines ritual site."

"But I saw him myself," he protested. Her eyes narrowed irately.

"What did he look like?"

"He… didn't look much like her, I'll admit. He had white hair and wore a Crusandian uniform. It was a strange version of it though, it was mostly black instead of red," he described. The woman looked stunned. Then, faster than anyone could follow, he mood shifted to the blackest of tempers.

"White hair… black uniform… Crusandian…," she ground out through gritted teeth. She wasn't the only one to have recognized the description.

"Why would the Merines claim that the Fang was her brother?" Lady Gadoria wondered, "Unless… she was trying to protect him… but why? The man who's chased her all this time-"

"The _Fang?!_" Moses and Will exclaimed in unison.

"She still trusts him, even after everything he's done to us." The Merines' sister whirled to face Will. "You say you saw him with her?" He quailed under her ferocious glare.

"Uh, yes, they were talking on the Altar of the Sea. They seemed to have a disagreement and that was when the Altar exploded. I didn't see where he went after that because I went to rescue Shirley." Will wasn't sure what else to say after that. In hindsight it seemed pretty obvious to him that she was lying about the entire story.

"So the Fang's the one that blew up the Altar of the Sea? I know it's horrible, a Radiant site and all, but you gotta admit that's impressive," said Norma with an awed whistle. She shrank back upon being met with the frosty glares everyone- man, woman, and Radiant- were giving her.

"So to sum up then, the Merines lied to protect the Fang even though he's been after her for awhile and got kidnapped because of some rivalry between him and one of the Terrors. Meanwhile the Fang is nowhere to be seen," summarized Moses. The holders of the various components of the story confirmed this. "We lost her on a trail through the woods on our way here. Where did you say you saw her?"

"It was south of here, in the direction of Raging Bay. I tried to free her myself but somehow the Phantom knew I was coming. An ambush was waiting for me and I only just managed to get away. They had set up camp for the night and it's early morning now so… who knows where they could be by now?" she groaned in dismay.

"What were their numbers?" asked Will.

"Well there was Shirley… she was guarded by Cashel and two others who I managed to take out before my capture. They were all in one tent surrounded by four others. There were four guards circling the camp and when the trap was sprung I believe that each other tent held about three soldiers. So… he has about sixteen men at his disposal, not to mention his own bag of tricks."

"You said they seemed to be heading towards Raging Bay?" questioned Lady Gadoria, lips pursed. When the woman nodded she seemed to grow more worried. She and Norma exchanged a nervous look. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright you two, what is it you know that we don't?" he asked wearily. For once Lady Gadoria seemed to put aside her dislike of men and cooperate.

"The bridge of the Legacy… the controls for the entire ship… is right there on the bay," she admitted.

"Y'all knew that and you didn't tell us?" Moses grumbled, once again working himself up into an angry fit.

"And you didn't tell us you had the Merines!" Norma pointed out irritably, "And Miss Serious over here didn't tell us her sister was the Merines!"

"My name is Stella!" cut in the woman in question.

"Yeah, you never told us that either!" she argued, "Face it, all of us've kept secrets here, stupid bandit!"

Before Moses could reply Will hit them all again. "That's enough! Right now we need to save Shirley! We know more or less where they're headed and how many of them there are so let's not waste more precious time on these childish fights!" He strode resolutely out of the plaza knowing that they would all follow him.

* * *

"H'v n'th'r dr'nk!" cried the drunk. He hiccoughed and pushed another glass towards Senel, who was honestly amazed the man was still alive, let alone conscious. The man had already been really drunk when they met in the late afternoon. Now, the next morning, the only sign of the all-night binge drinking was an increased slurring of words. Fortunately for him, the barkeep had noticed just how much this man alone would cost him and felt enough pity to put his on the house. All Senel had to worry about then was keeping the alcohol thrown at him out of his system. Easier said than done.

"C'm'n, dr'nk'p! D'n't b'shy, S'n'l C'l'g!" The glass thrust insistently out at him was the only thing that Senel could understand out of the whole statement.

"Alright, alright," he agreed, wondering if he should just drug the man and hope he didn't die from all the substances in his body. He pretended to take a gulp and then, when the other looked in a different direction, switched his full glass for the empty one in front of the man. All he did was blink, mumble something that might've been "good service", and chug it down. Senel was starting to despair at the man ever leaving him alone.

_I don't have time for this! Shirley…. It wasn't supposed to happen like this! Cashel, what are you doing?! _With all the booze flowing he'd soon gathered the entire story as the drunks knew it. _I have to get out of here now and get Shirley away from that man!_ Just as he was about to get up a snore reached his ears. Looking down he saw his abductor finally, _finally_ passed out.

"I thought you might need that," commented the bartender, "With how drunk he was it only took a little of our special brew to knock him cold." He grinned mischievously.

"…Thanks. For everything," muttered Senel.

"No problem, come back anytime! Although," he said with a wince, "try paying only for your own next time."

"Tell me about it. I'll see you again sometime…-" he glanced at the nametag pinned to his uniform. "…Rory."

"See you too, 'S'n'l Coolge'," Rory replied with a wink.

_Now that I'm free, I have to find Shirley!_ He dashed out the bar door and into the street, too intent on figuring out where Cashel would bring her to notice the collision course he was on. He slammed into the other body with enough force to send them both tumbling.

"Sorry about th-" They looked up at the same time and immediately their minds flew to their previous encounter. Senel found himself thrown onto his back, a foot on his chest to keep him down and a blade at his throat.

So you _were_ involved!" snarled Stella.


	6. As One

Well, instead of working on this during MCAS I worked on character art. I just want to finish a few more people and then I'll have them all up on DA (so far I've got Senel, Chloe, Rory, and a really crappy Stella finished.)

Hope this meets people's expectations!

Don't own.

* * *

Everyone had been so distracted with trying to figure out where Shirley might've been taken that no one noticed the stranger until he had already bowled Stella over. But the even bigger surprise was her violent reaction to the event. Until, that is, they saw the features of the one lying on the ground.

White hair.

Pale eyes.

And what they all recognized as the uniform of the Pythons, sans the jacket.

"So you _were_ involved!"

"Stella…," the Fang murmured. His eyes flicked over each of their faces, confusion spreading across his face the more he saw.

"Don't say my name!" she snapped, "Tell me where Shirley is! What have you done with her?!"

"So you already know. I guess that makes sense, with all the talk around town."

"Stop wasting my time and tell me where she is! I know it was your accomplice Cashel who took her!" she cried in a pained voice. Her swallow inched closer to his neck.

"Stella, I don't think he knows anything. Let's just lock him up so we can deal with him later. We need to rescue Shirley!" protested Chloe.

"Why wait?" Moses suggested with an almost feral grin, "It would take much less time to kill him now than to escort him to prison."

"Stella, listen-" the Fang began to plead.

"To what, your excuses?"

"You men are such bloodthirsty savages!"

"Lady Gadoria, you really shouldn't-"

"Bloodthirsty? _You're_ the bloodthirsty one!"

"I should just kill you now for everything you've-"

"_Quiet!_" yelled Norma, stomping her foot into the ground, "None of this matters right now so stop being so stupid and just listen!" And listen they did, if only because Norma was being the mature one for once. "Yo, Senny!" she directed at the Fang.

"Senny…? Whatever, what is it?" he asked, remarkably calm for someone who could die any instant.

"Why'd you come to Werites Beacon? Oh yeah, and your answer could be the difference between life and death, so no pressure!" she exclaimed.

"I came here to capture Shir- the Merines. Looks like Cashel got there ahead of me. For some reason he's been getting into my affairs a lot recently," he answered.

"Oh, so you don't know why? You don't know what he's planning?" A cunning smirk slid onto her face.

"What are you talking about? What pl- wait… he isn't trying to-"

"Discredit you, stab you in the back, and disband the Pythons once you're dead? Yep, that's him!" Norma cheerfully agreed. Chloe looked like she was about to protest warning the enemy but agreed to Will's silent suggestion that she just watch. "Really is a shame, huh? You'll die, your legacy will be lost, and we'll all be killed protecting our home from your super powered boss. Tough all around, huh?" she baited. His eyes narrowed in response.

"…What are you suggesting?" he muttered, giving in and taking the bait.

"You know, this city is controlled by the Lord of the Legacy, who we just so happen to have with us," she said, pointing out Moses. "You've committed a lot of crimes on his land too; destruction of a monument, reckless endangerment, assault, attempted murder, attempted kidnap, the list goes on. With all you've done you've got yourself a free ticket to an execution! Buuut…."

"But?"

"If you promise to help us get the Merines we just maybe might be able to clear you of your current charges. So whaddaya say?" she offered, holding out a hand.

"What?!" yelled Stella, ignoring gestures telling her to quiet down, "You'd actually let this scum near Shirley? You'd _work with him?!"_

"Stella has a point, Norma. We could be putting ourselves and the Merines in danger by getting help from this _man,_" said Chloe distastefully.

"Hey, we need as much firepower as we can get, right? If the Fang's all he's hyped up to be he'll be useful, right? If he's useful, make use of him!" persuaded Norma.

"Can he even be trusted to uphold his end of the bargain?" Will commented.

"Of course not!" Stella raged.

"I don't trust him," Chloe informed them with a stubborn frown.

"You don't trust any men, Chloe!" Moses pointed out, "Welcome to the team, Senel. Why don't you and me get a head start while these here girls finish up their bellyachin'?" It was obvious he was only doing this to be contrary, especially when mere minutes before he was all for killing him.

"Bellyaching?!" protested Stella, Chloe, and Norma.

"Girls?" protested Will.

"Let's stop wasting time!" Senel interjected before another argument could start, "If Shirley's really with Cashel we need to get her away as soon as possible! He'll keep her alive since she's the Merines but he could just torture her without killing her, like he does with a lot of the other prisoners he captures."

Will raised an eyebrow. "For someone who claims to be chasing the Merines yourself you show a surprising amount of interest in her wellbeing."

"I don't care about the Merines," he replied shortly, "I'm not going to help her. I'm helping Shirley. As long as she doesn't become the Merines I won't have to capture her… or kill her."

"So now you're just looking after her? This has all just been for her safety? You liar!" Stella accused almost hysterically.

"Stella…."

"If you wanted to help so bad, why did you chase us for so long? Why did you betray us and try to take Shirley to Vaclav? Well?!" she spat.

"I…," he began. He started to say something but cut himself off. "I… can't answer that."

"That's what I thought," she growled, "I trusted you. I knew what you were and I didn't say a word! And how did you repay me? A stab to the back!" The other stayed silent. The rest of the group watched on awkwardly, feeling like intruders. She glowered at him, ready at any moment to move that blade across the remaining distance to his throat.

"Stella, please just put the past aside for now. For Shirley," he pleaded. Her gaze remained unrelenting though she did allow him to push the swallow away from his neck and get up. "Does anyone know where Cashel was headed with her?"

"Towards Raging Bay. We're not sure why but he seems to be hurrying there as fast as he can," replied Will. He was careful to leave any mention of the Bridge out of his answer. If Senel noticed that information was being kept from him he gave no indication of it.

"Raging Bay, huh? I have an idea of where he might be going then." To their surprise he pulled out a map and pointed somewhere a great distance from anywhere the Bridge could be. "There's a secret base around here that he'll probably lay low in for awhile until he thinks it's safe to move again. If we can reach there first we can turn it into a trap and not only get back Shirley but also get Cashel out of our way. _All_ of our way's."

"Should you really be telling us all this?" Will couldn't help but feel suspicious of such vital information being given away so easily.

"It doesn't matter," explained Senel, shaking his head, "Vaclav has never been able to get a firm enough hold on the Legacy to use it, thanks to Lady Gadoria and the Lord of the Legacy. And it's far from anywhere I'd need to go so I never use it either. It's empty."

"Then what makes you so sure Cashel's going to?" demanded Chloe.

"Vaclav's plans for the Merines have changed. He no longer cares about controlling the Legacy; not just yet anyway. Right now he needs to focus on the Ferines attacks that've been destroying his forts all over the world. He knows if he can get the Merines the Ferines would do anything to keep her safe, even join his side. So Cashel needs to get back to the mainland with her but can't if Fortisport and Port-on-Rage are backed up. He'll hide out until the excitement wears down and he'll do it here." He tapped the map.

"Can you lead us there?" asked Will.

"Yeah," he confirmed.

"And we can trust you not to bring us, say, to the Man-Eating Ruins and scamper off?" Norma sent him a doubtful glance.

"You'll have to, you'll never find it without me." He turned towards the city's exit and shot a look over his shoulder. He waited until every last one of them, however reluctantly, had agreed. Stella was last, making sure he knew just how little she trusted him.

"So… I guess you lead the way?" Norma's tone was quizzical as she looked him over. To her, who was used to the passionate Chloe, honest Will, and excitable Moses, Senel was like a closed book. At the same time she could tell he had no malicious intent. He was like Jay that way, she noted. Hard to tell what thoughts were going through his head but still easy enough to read where it counts. For while she knew Jay wasn't quite honest in his dealings, she also knew he didn't mean anything bad by it.

"Hurry up, Norma, you're being left behind!" called Chloe. Norma shrugged to herself and figured that in the long period of time they were bound to be spending together she'd make sense of him.

* * *

Csaba ran as quickly as he could while carrying a precarious tower of an icecream cone. Through the streets of the little Rexalian town he dashed, almost wondering how a bandit who had risen so quickly through the ranks could get stuck on babysitting duty. Still, it was a big responsibility since it was only for his daughter's wellbeing that the chief's favorite had even agreed to join them. Besides, Harriet wasn't so bad. Usually.

As he came upon the little cottage on the outskirts of the town, he shouted, "Harriet! I brought you some icecream!"

"I'm over here!" came her voice from the back porch. He walked around until he could see her. She was dangling her legs off the edge, occasionally kicking at bees that came too close. Csaba couldn't help but be amazed at her. Such a tiny girl, but such strength! She'd grown up being told how horrible her father was by her mother's family but when Will was caught sneaking at the funeral she not only easedropped enough to hear the whole story, she also forgave and ran away with him. Now he was taking care of her until the Legacy became safe enough for her to live with him- or she became strong enough to beat anything that got in her way. Whichever came first.

"It's your favorite, blackberry, chocolate, and toffee." He handed it to her. Unfortunately it didn't have the effect he was hoping for when he bought it. "Still worried?"

She sighed. "Everyone says that Dad's so smart but he isn't! What if he starts saying those stupid things again, like 'Harriet's in danger as long as this war goes on, I should destroy Vaclav's army on my own!' and he dies?"

"Will's never said anything like that! He just wants to protect you any way he can! That's why he became a bandit, right?"

"Most people would just stay with their daughters to protect them," she said grumpily.

"He'll be fine and as soon as the war's over he'll come back to you!" Csaba noticed the icecream was beginning to melt.

"That's not good enough! Any man who spends so much time away from his kid is a criminal!" she cried, flailing her arms. At least someone was now enjoying the icecream, even if it was just ants.

_Wouldn't he be a criminal anyway?_ Csaba wondered to himself. Out loud he said, "If you want to write a letter I could send it with my next report."

Down came the foot. For a moment the house itself seemed to shake on its foundation. He gulped nervously. He recognized that look on Harriet's face, the one that said she was angry enough to do something impulsive that would backfire on both of them. Last time she got that look it was because the sweet shop ran out of honey to make her favorite snack. He ended up with a broken leg and multiple stings from trying to fetch some from the tree in their backyard. A broken leg over honey? He didn't want to know what would happen if her frustration was her father.

"He never sends replies!" Stomp. "He's too paranoid!" Stomp. "Stupid Dad!" Stomp!

"Harriet…?" He reached towards her uncertainly as she seemed to calm down, only for his hand to be snatched in a grip much stronger than that of the average ten year old. Also out of place was the vicious grin on her face, reminiscent of Moses.

"We're going to the Legacy." Her tone left no room for argument. "We'll go to the Legacy and help Dad whether he likes it or not!"

Normally Csaba would have brought up that she was putting herself in danger and that Will wouldn't approve at all. There was a war going on and ships on their way to the Legacy were being seized, not to mention that neither of them could use eres. Instead he just nodded mutely and mentally ran over a list of things they'd need. Fortunately it was early summer so they could get away with travelling light….

_Whoever said women were the weaker sex… didn't know what they were talking about._ Harriet was now all but cackling in triumph as she pulled out a small bag of belongings. She had obviously been planning to go whether he agreed or not. _Sorry Moses, Will. I did my best._

* * *

In another part of the world it was early morning and Melanie was stepping onto dry land for the first time in two days. All around her the other passengers rushed off, feeling relief that they could finally get away from the woman who had haunted their nightmares for the past two nights. Many of them would be dreaming of a red clad arena fighter gleefully dealing them pain with her whip for nights to come. Not that she had hurt any of them. To the contrary, she'd been quite polite. Dining with them, singing their children very… unique lullabies, eyeing them like fresh meat. Fresh, bloody meat she could sink her teeth into….

So maybe not that polite.

Either way they still treated her like they'd received the greatest gift in the world merely from her presence, if only to keep her happy. Many years in the future one of those passengers would become the best horror author that ever was, their best selling book starring a sadistic vampire taking over a ship far from any possible help. But that's neither here nor now.

Melanie was only aware enough of their terror to take pleasure in it. She had business on her mind, that being finding Cashel. He was probably in the north, where most known Radiant sites were. She'd had to land in the south so as not to draw attention to herself (surprisingly enough arena fights were only popular in the Werites Beacon area of the north and the monsters that fighters liked to train against lived in the south.) Well, no matter. All she has to do was get out of town on the pretext of training and-

"Hey, are you an arena fighter?!" She turned slightly to see an enthusiastic man bouncing back and forth on his heels. He looked Gadorian and had glasses hanging half off his face. His clothes were also deeply wrinkled.

"Obviously. I came to the Legacy to train in the Crags," she responded in a haughty tone.

"And your name?!" Why was this man so excited?

"Scarlet." She gave him a strange look and turned to leave.

_I thought the south was women only. It looks like some stories were stretched._ Looking around, she saw plenty of men. In fact, it looked like any other city, just with a slightly higher female population.

"So you're Bloody Scarlet, the great arena fighter?!" he cried, waving his hands wildly through the air, "She boarded the Legacy as a small-time fighter and quickly rose to the top thanks to her manager, Dana May!" A small, fancy card was thrown at her. "So, will that be your story?! Will you become the world-renowned Bloody Scarlet?!"

She scowled at him but it seemed to have no effect. In fact, he seemed to think she was showing him her best game face ("The audience will really dig it!") Turning away and shoving at him didn't work either ("Wow, you're definitely cool enough to make it!") Finally she looked him in the eye and growled, "If you don't get away from me right now I'll be forced to punish you." She pulled out her whip and cracked it for emphasis.

He sputtered and backed down. After muttering something about the opportunity of a lifetime he dashed off in tears that might even have been real.

"Good riddance," Melanie sneered. She put away her whip and in the process a small piece of paper slipped out of a fold in her bag. Picking it up, she read:

_Dana May_

_Manager, Legal Consultant, Financial Advisor_

_26 Pulcher Avenue, Dominopolis_

_Superior Service Guaranteed_

She scoffed and was about to throw it away when a stray thought made her pause. She read it again and the thought grew in her head, along with her grin.

_I could use these people, couldn't I? It would be the perfect cover- Scarlet, the great arena fighter, would travel the Legacy putting on shows. I would not only be able to travel anywhere without anyone questioning me, I would ne privy to all kinds of juicy gossip. I could find out all about Cashel's actions, get proof, and show Commander Vaclav how much of a traitor he is. All while hiding in plain sight and earning gald to boot!_

With that plan in mind she set out to Dominopolis. The distance wasn't far between the two cities and, unlike the Lord of the Legacy (who liked to leave things in their natural state), Lady Gadoria favored the fast transport that trams provided. Granted said trams only travelled between major cities, it was still helpful technology that made the journey even quicker and spared travelers the hike over rough terrain.

In no time at all she stood before 26 Pulcher Avenue and, smirking, stepped through the door into her new role.

* * *

Just one note this chapter, and that's the addition of trams. The way I see it, while everyone was surprised to see one in the lighthouse, everyone knew exactly what it was. That suggests they're at least somewhat common on the mainland. So, two years later, there are a few installed to make travel more efficient. That's also the secret behind Jay's fast travel, underground trams that he had built in the secret passage and its offshoots to get to any part of the Legacy in a flash.


	7. Meanwhile

Sorry for the long wait, readers whom may or may not still be here. I do have an excuse… summer vacation. Yeah. I actually update better when I have a schedule (aka school) to follow, so I haven't touched this chapter all summer. Why didn't I finish it during the previous school year? To be honest, this was supposed to be a last-update-of-the-school-year chapter. What happened?

I realized how much I freakin' hate this chapter.

No amount of rewriting will make this chapter satisfy me and unfortunately it absolutely had to happen so I put it off.

At least it gave me time to better organize my thoughts?

To make it (slightly) better, here're those pics of what everyone looks like. Stella and Melanie I ended up leaving out since they came out especially horrible. The others aren't too good either… but I did the impossible and drew a fist that looks like a fist. I can totally overlook the rest of the pic just for that.

The Fang:

http:/ chaoticblades (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/ The-Fang-178576948

Lady Gadoria:

http:/ chaoticblades (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/ Lady-Gadoria-178577319

Rory:

http:/ chaoticblades (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/ Rory-178577737

Alexander and Dana May:

http:/ chaoticblades (dot) deviantart (dot) com/art/ Dana-May-and-Alexander-178578241

And I promise, these are the last OCs that'll have any significance!

And with that, onto the (crappy) chapter of a fic of a game I definitely don't own!

A soft tinkle of bells rang out as Melanie took her first step into the store. Looking around, she could see that the place had seen better days. A pile of late and still unpaid bills were on a nearby table, the only part of the room that wasn't freakishly neat. Every one of the sparse belongings were perfectly organized, to the point the books in the far shelf completely lined up spine to spine. The color scheme of the room seemed to be grey.

"Don't just stand in the doorway, either come in or go back out," said a monotone from across the room. She looked up in surprise to see that there had been another woman in the room the entire time. She was a tall suited figure standing in a rigid posture directly in front of her. For a moment Melanie felt alarmed that she had been caught off guard like that, but upon looking over the other she concluded it was only because she blent in with the overall drabness and stiffness of the room. In fact, the only splash of color she could see was the red tie she was wearing.

"You're Scarlet," she stated, "Much too hesitant to make it far."

Melanie tensed angrily and completely entered the store, letting the door swing shut with another jingle. The woman, whom she assumed was Dana May, merely frowned harder (or seemed to, considering not one muscle in her face had moved.) She circled Melanie, somehow looking disgusted even though her expression hadn't changed.

"You're too easily goaded, opponents will take advantage of that." She tapped her costume. "Too gaudy, no one will take you seriously, even if you do make it big."

"Listen you, I don't need to hear this from some bit-rate manager who hasn't been able to keep a client!" snarled Melanie. _Who does this woman think she is?_

"I don't need to associate myself with children who won't let me do my job. I'm not here to coddle you, I'm here to organize your attempts at stardom so that you actually have a chance at making it big. You don't have to like me, just listen to me." Dana May reached into Melanie's bag and pulled out her whip. "It's been awhile since anyone's used a whip in the arena. You should at least attract interest fighting like this… assuming you can hold your own."

"What makes you so sure I'll choose you as my manager? Even being see in this dump would damage my reputation," she sneered at the impassive face before her. She reclaimed her whip with more force than was really necessary. In response the manager leaned in close.

"Because I'm the best there is." It came out as all but a whisper. Before Melanie could even blink she had pulled back and call over her shoulder, "Alexander."

"Coming! Don't worry, I won't fail you this time, mistress! I- Scarlet! You really came!" She suppressed a groan when she saw a familiar head of dark, wild locks. He immediately dropped the pile of manuscripts he held in his arms and rushed over to jump her. "I'm so happy! I thought I'd failed the mistress again because you didn't want to come with me but I guess I was wrong!"

She extracted herself from his arms with difficulty and straightened her costume. "I had a change of heart," she muttered.

"Really? That's great! I just knew you'd be the one to turn our luck around, as soon as I saw you!" To her alarm he threw his arms around her neck and kissed both her cheeks. But before she could push him away he was already gone, whipping around to face his boss. "I did good, right Dana May? I told you we'd have a customer and now we do!" He mauled Dana May as well, who somehow managed to remain a statue throughout the whole ordeal.

"Get the contract," was her only reply.

"Aye, aye, captain!" he shouted, whizzing off up a set of stairs and shooting back down them seconds later with a stack of papers. These were dumped in her arms as he skidded over to Dana May like a puppy in search of approval.

The contract, while long, was standard of these kinda of employment. She only skimmed them casually before signing. If worst came to worst she figured she could just double-cross the arrogant woman and her annoying peon. "So, _manager,_ what do you suggest I do now? Understand I was planning to do a circuit through Werites Beacon."

An eyebrow twitched ever-so-slightly upwards. "Do you honestly believe you can make it cold to Werites Beacon." Despite the phrasing, it wasn't a question. "If you step one foot near the arena with anything less than a medal hand-crafted by Lady Gadoria herself, you'll be laughed out of town without ever seeing your opponent."

"And how exactly would I get one of those medals?" Melanie already regretted choosing such an involved disguise.

"There's an annual tournament held in Ferox and the winner gets the medal as a prize. Sometimes Lady Gadoria will even present it, though since she happens to be away it's doubtful that will be so this year," explained Dana May.

"So the tournament's coming up?"

"Not for you it isn't," was her response, "You need to work your way up to that level, starting with training. Unless you can do six months worth of training in the next three days." The derision in her voice set Melanie's teeth on edge.

"I won't-"

"Please give her a chance!" Alexander surprised them both by exclaiming (or at least Melanie assumed Dana May was surprised, since once again her face remained blank.) "I know she can handle it! I can feel it! In here!" He tapped his chest. "Please, Dana May, you gotta let her try!" At first it seemed like she wouldn't relent. Finally she sighed and sent him to get a registration form.

"Only for you," she murmured, so quietly it was obvious she didn't think anyone could hear her.

"So, the stalwart businesswoman loves her clumsy assistant?" Melanie asked conversationally. _If it's true, then I've found myself the golden key to getting my way._

"Of course," the other replied, "He's my nephew. When my sister's husband died, she took over his business and adopted Alexander. She left him with me on trip to resupply Gadorian soldiers during the Battle of Seloren Hill and was killed by Crusandian troops there."

"I see…," said Melanie. _Seloren? The only troops there were my own… this just got interesting._ She could barely contain her amusement. _I wonder how she would react if she knew who I really was? Maybe I should tell her before she dies. After all, I can't leave a job unfinished. _She chuckled internally. _Yes, I'll tell her right before I end her life. The boy too._

The silence was broken by said boy bounding back into the room. "I got the forms, and filled them out too!" he cried, "Scarlet, with this you can enter! Aren't you excited?"

"Yes, I feel like I could burst." Her smirk and dry tone were lost on him, since he'd already turned back to his aunt.

"She'll make it, right? I mean there's no way she couldn't, since she's so cool and I bet she'll be famous one day and so will we since we were the ones to see her potential and-!"

"That remains to be seen," Dana May interrupted.

"You think I need more training?" asked Melanie smoothly. Dana May couldn't agree if she wanted to keep Alexander happy, which was obviously her priority.

"There's no such thing as too much training." Dana May now knew it'd been a mistake to tell Melanie about their past. Melanie knew her weakness now and could use it against her at any time, if Alexander's doting attitude was anything to go by. Yes, these people would be easy to use indeed.

"It would seem my subordinates have all run away, Stingle," laughed Vaclav. The other man stood awkwardly to his side. As the last of the four left, Vaclav was watching his movements more closely than ever before. "First Senel chooses to ignore my orders to stay, then Cashel sneaks off after him and Melanie after Cashel. Now what could they all be doing that's making them go behind my back?" His booming laugh unnerved Stingle.

_The others don't see it but I do. You're just playing cat and mouse with them! You know exactly where they are and what they're doing, don't you? Does that mean you know what I'm doing too?_

"Why so quiet, Stingle? You know what your colleagues are like. Enlighten me, what do you think they're up to?"

_He's trying to get information out of me. Testing my loyalty?_ Out loud he said, "I'm not sure. They might be competing to see who can make the most progress again." It was a game Melanie and Cashel often played with each other in order to gain Vaclav's favor. And with their introduction to Senel, a whole new game seems to have kicked off._Why does Senel follow Vaclav anyway? He's not listed in any of the birth records I've checked and neither did his name appear in training logs. It's almost as if he didn't exist until the Pythons were formed._

"So it's a contest, hmm? Then why aren't you out there doing your best to please me?" He grinned like he could read the other's thoughts.

"I serve my commander best by staying at his side and awaiting orders," Stingle responded.

"So if I were to order you to take up this challenge you would do so?"

"Would it really be wise to send all of your best soldiers to the Legacy?"

"Why not? All the problems lie there. No other country is a threat anymore. My normal officers can handle the mainland. On the Legacy are the bandits, the Merines, and the Albatross, if reports of damage are accurate. It will take my strongest to remove these last few players and then I'll have won." He leered smugly and let out a bit of his trademark laugh.

"If those are you orders, I shall." A savage grin gave him his answer. _At least I'll be able to give Chloe information face to face. This gives me a greater chance to keep tabs on the other Terrors and the Fang at least. _He barely registered Vaclav dismissing him. Suddenly all his plans would have to change. Vaclav needed to be watched; he would have to get one of his allies to take up the job. Melanie, he decided, would be his top priority. At least with Cashel and the Fang he had some idea what they were doing.

"Sire!" called a soldier who had paused in front of him, "A ship has been prepared for you, sire! Commander Vaclav wishes for you to begin your mission immediately!"

_What mission? I've been ordered to follow the example of three separate people who haven't made their actions known._ "Understood. Dismissed."

"Quiet, aren't we, Merines?" The tone of the man's voice made her flinch. She shifted her gaze to his face from its resting place of the ground. She wasn't sure how long they had been stumbling along through the brush but the woods seemed… different. The monsters they'd encountered were certainly getting stronger. The last one had shaved off another three, scratching the number of soldiers down to seven. As horrible as that made her feel, it was for the best. If there was one thing that Stella's rescue attempt had accomplished, it made her realize that she needed to get herself free.

"A-ah, I-I need to… take a moment to myself. Could I please… just off in the bushes…?" She hoped this would work. _I need to do my part as well. I'm not as weak as I used to be. I can do this!_ When she saw his skeptical look, she began shifting her legs and squeezing them as she walked. If he suspected anything it seemed he felt it was nothing to worry about, sending only two guards with her. It was discomforting to have them so focused on her but her plan should still work.

She squatted facing the nearest tree and concentrated, summoning her teriques into cupped hands. The glow mostly hidden, she was able to concentrate on pouring a large amount of energy into that small space. A grunt of effort escaped her. It was then that the guards noticed the light peeking from between her fingers.

"Hey, what do you think you're-" He was cut off by the shockwave sent out by her teriques. Them and the nearby trees were blasted away. Amidst the showering of wood splinters Cashel appeared. All in his vicinity were smacked down before they could reached him.

"Nicely done, Merines, but I'm afraid you won't be getting away so easily," he said with his ever-ready smirk. The rest of his squad surrounded her as he himself sauntered up.

"You're right, there's no way I could get away on my own. I need Stella, she's always took care of me. That's why… I'm going to her, right now!" She summoned her teriques again this time on her back to act as wings. A desperate dash from Cashel was still not enough for him to catch her. Up and away she went, flying towards Werites Beacon to confuse him. Once he was out of sight, Shirley changed course to the Misty Mountains.

_I know Will and Moses are gone, but maybe I can get help there!_


End file.
